Life and Thought
Mohsen Hesam Mazaheri, born in 1982 in Isfahan, is an Iranian author and researcher in the field of social studies of religion, Shiism, and Shia rituals. He is known for his sociological research on mourning rites, religious congregations (hey'ats), Shia culture, and the transformation of rituals in contemporary Iran.
Mohsen Hesam Mazaheri is a sociology graduate of the University of Tehran and a researcher in the social studies of religion and Shiism. The main focus of his work is on Shia rituals and rites, particularly mourning, religious congregations (hey'ats), and their historical and social changes in contemporary Iran.
Mazaheri considers his primary project to be the study of the evolution of Shia rituals and understanding the social logic of these transformations. In his works, he strives to show that religious rituals are not merely a set of devotional acts, but are formed and transformed within a network of media, symbolic power, collective memory, social identity, and the lived experience of the faithful.
Among his important works are "The Shia Media", "The Shia Mourning Culture", "Ritual Inflation", "Religious Gatherings in Contemporary Iran", "Islamic-Shia Festivals in Iran", "The Arbaeen Walk", and "The Tragedy of the Islamic World". He has also published works in the field of social studies of the Iran-Iraq War and has served as editor-in-chief of the periodicals "Habil" and "Fetyan".
